Kings to Open 2011-12 Season on December 26th Versus L.A. Lakers at Power Balance Pavilion

SACRAMENTO, CALIF., Dec. 06, 2011 -- The Sacramento Kings will open the 2011-12 regular season at home for the first time in eight years when they host the Los Angeles Lakers at Power Balance Pavilion on December 26th (7 pm PST). The Kings play four of their first five games of the season at home which also includes games versus the Chicago Bulls (Thursday, December 29th), New York Knicks (Saturday, December 31st) and New Orleans Hornets (Sunday, January 1st).

Sacramento will be featured once on TNT and eight times on NBATV during the 2011-12 campaign. Seven out of the nine national broadcasts will originate from Power Balance Pavilion when the Kings take on the Los Angeles Lakers (December 26th on NBATV), Oklahoma City Thunder (February 9th on TNT), Phoenix Suns (February 11th on NBATV), Dallas Mavericks (March 9th on NBATV), Atlanta Hawks (March 11th on NBATV), New Jersey Nets (March 31st on NBATV) and Houston Rockets (April 8th on NBATV). The Kings’ two nationally televised road games are against the Utah Jazz (January 28th on NBATV) at EnergySolutions Arena and Golden State Warriors (March 24th on NBATV) at Oracle Arena.

Notable teams making early Power Balance Pavilion appearances include the Orlando Magic (Sunday, January 8th), Golden State Warriors (Saturday, February 4th), Oklahoma City Thunder (Thursday, February 9th), Los Angeles Clippers (Thursday, March 1st) and NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks (Friday, March 9th).

The Kings’ season finale will take place at home when they battle the Los Angeles Lakers at Power BalancePavilion on Thursday, April 26th.

Kings individual tickets will go on sale Monday, December 12th at 10am via Kings.com, the Power Balance Pavilion Box Office and by calling 888-91-KINGS. Very limited inventory will be available for the Dec 26th Home Opener versus the Lakers. Fans looking to beat the rush and guarantee seats to the Dec 26th game and the biggest matchups of the year are encouraged to call 888-91-KINGS tosecure a partial or season ticket plan today or to register for the upcoming ticket Open House Seat Selection on December 9th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Plans start at just $10.00 per game.

Following are key facts regarding the Kings’ 2011-12 regular season schedule.

The Kings’ longest homestand is nine games versus New Orleans (Wednesday, March 7th), Dallas (Friday, March 9th), Atlanta (Sunday, March 11th), Golden State (Tuesday, March 13th), Detroit (Wednesday, March 14th), Boston (Friday, March 16th), Minnesota (Sunday, March 18th), Memphis (Tuesday, March 20th) and Utah (Thursday, March 22nd) at Power Balance Pavilion.

Sacramento embarks on five road trips of three or more games in length. The longest is a six-game journey with stops in Chicago (Tuesday, February 14th), New York (Wednesday, February 15th), Detroit (Friday, February 17th), Cleveland (Sunday, February 19th), Miami (Tuesday, February 21st) and Washington (Wednesday, February 22nd).

Of the 16 sets of back-to-back games, three are of the home-home contests, nine are of the away-away variety, two are away-home and two are of the home-away category.

Sacramento has one back-to-back-to-back set at Memphis (Tuesday, January 3rd) and Denver (Wednesday, January 4th) and home versus Milwaukee (Thursday, January 5th).

The Kings will host three Sunday games with a start time of 3 pm versus Orlando (January 8th), Minnesota (March 18th) and Portland (April 15th).

Sacramento’s 33-game home schedule features 13 weekend contests at Power Balance Pavilion.

The Kings handed the Toronto Raptors a 111-108 defeat in last season’s home opener at ARCO Arena. This season marks the first time Sacramento has faced the Los Angeles Lakers in their home opener.

Sacramento recorded a 117-116 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in last year’s road opener at the Target Center. This season marks only the third time the Kings have played the Portland Trail Blazers in their road opener. Sacramento is 0-2 in such games, suffering losses to Portland at the beginning of the 1988-89 and 1989-90 campaigns by scores of 103-121 and 96-114, respectively.

The Kings have opened the season on the road in each of the past seven campaigns, playing three or more games.

The Kings will play on one national holiday when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16th).

About Maloof Sports & Entertainment (MS&E):
Maloof Sports & Entertainment includes the Sacramento Kings and Power Balance Pavilion. Owned by the Maloof family with long-term, local partners, the organization is committed to being a contributing member of the Sacramento community. Teaming up with local leaders and non-profit organizations to give back to those in need throughout the region, MS&E has donated millions of dollars to charity in 12 years of Maloof family ownership. For more information about Maloof Sports & Entertainment, please visit Kings.com, PowerBalancePavilion.com or call 916-928-0000.